Chapter 208

Not long after that, a middle school girl returned to her country from the icy region, which was filled only with ice chunks.

Still, since she had adapted quite well to the cold in the Arctic, Korea should be bearable.

…or so she thought, but her thoughts crumbled the moment she stepped outside the airport.

“Ugh, it’s just as cold…”

She muttered inwardly while rubbing the sleeves of her padded jacket with her palm.

Thinking back, her life in the Arctic had temperature adjustments because of her transformation.

Ultimately, aside from her transformation form, which was the greatest advantage of being a magical girl, it was just as cold here as it was there.

She didn’t want to be outside for even a second longer.

Even inhaling and exhaling brought out white steam from her nose.

After walking for a while after leaving the airport, she stood in a spot where taxis were relatively common, waiting idly for one to arrive until it pulled up at a distance from the traffic signal.

Using the call taxi app would have been quicker, but she hadn’t used it that much…

The key point was, she hadn’t even bothered to install it out of laziness.

Installing it just for today felt somehow off.

Shivering, she waited for about ten minutes. Then, a taxi with a sign saying “Vacant” caught her eye from across the street.

Waving her hand to catch the taxi driver’s attention, it rolled up and stopped right in front of her.

She opened the back door with a click, got in, closed the door, and casually settled in while stating her destination even before the driver could ask.

“Hello, please take me to the Bichsaem Apartment in XX-dong.”

“Sure!”

It was such a comforting response from the friendly taxi driver, especially after the exhausting journey in a foreign country filled with a jumble of languages.

“Ahhh…”

Leaning back against the soft, gray leather seat of the taxi, a yawn mixed with fatigue slipped out from her mouth.

The yawn flowed out involuntarily, and she covered it with her hand that was not holding her smartphone.

Just earlier, she hadn’t felt like she was back in Korea at all, but the cozy chair offering a late comfort and the absence of a language barrier was reassuring.

As she let her eyes flutter closed while she yawned lazily, the driver asked casually from the front seat.

“Oh dear, are you a bit sleepy, student?”

“Yes…”

“Did you go on a trip somewhere?”

The seasoned taxi driver seemed relaxed enough to chat while driving.

With her heavy backpack and tired expression, along with her languid yawning, it was clear she looked like someone coming back from a trip.

Reflecting this, the driver asked with his perceptive tone, giving her a chance to share.

“I went to Russia.”

“Russia? In this cold? All by yourself?”

Not going to a typical travel destination like Japan or Vietnam but to Russia had caught the driver by surprise.

Startled by the unexpected destination, the driver asked her with wide eyes while keeping his attention on the road.

Even though they clearly weren’t looking at each other, their conversation felt engaging.

Feeling oddly restricted by the elderly man’s tone, she held back from admitting she’d gone alone and instead crafted a suitable white lie.

“With a friend…”

“Oh wow, that’s impressive… Are you a middle schooler?”

“I’m going to be a high schooler now.”

“A high schooler now? Going on trips with friends—what a fine student! My daughter has never traveled more than a little distance from home or school.”

Listening to his family stories, she kept her gaze on the taxi meter.

4900, 5000, 5100… It felt like they hadn’t traveled even 50 meters, yet the taxi fare kept increasing in 100-won increments, causing her slight anxiety.

Though it was still acceptable compared to current meal prices, her eyes couldn’t help but wander there.

Just ten years ago, there were taxis with meters that raced, but she hadn’t seen one of those lately.

There used to be some thrill in watching her legs move listlessly while riding in a taxi.

The scenery from the airport to her home felt oddly unfamiliar.

As buildings gradually began to look familiar, she stretched her body out with the thought, “I’m finally back.”

“Thank you for your service!”

“Yes, thank you!”

She adjusted her heavy bag from her lap to her back, opened the taxi’s back door, and waited at the crosswalk for the signal.

While waiting, she focused on the screen of her smartphone, tapping on it with her fingers.

I’m almost home, she typed and pressed the button on her side pocket and tucked the phone into her bag.

The winter wind made her not want to take her hand outside at all.

Wearing a bright red Arctic expedition jacket with a large polar bear printed on its back, which she received as a souvenir, she waited at the signal.

Seeing the bright red jacket received from the ‘North’ gave a peculiar highlight.

As the green light turned on, she crossed the street and entered the apartment complex.

Passing through the familiar shared entrance, she called the elevator, which was stopped on the 10th floor.

She pressed the fourth-floor button, which had slightly popped out due to not being maintained recently, and set foot in the familiar corridor.

Standing in front of the most welcoming entrance door in the world, she input a 4-digit password that seemed impossible to forget even after living abroad for several years.

Pulling open the heavy iron door, she heard a light, bouncy sound of footsteps.

“Are you back?!”

“Yeah, I’m back…”

As soon as she entered the door, she was greeted by Shiyeon, who seemed to have been waiting for her.

The chill of mid-winter that she had felt just moments before faded away, covered by the warmth of the boiler.

Instead of dealing with her bag first, she quickly pulled down the zipper of her jacket, letting it drop to the floor with a thud, like shedding a cocoon.

A sense of energy quickly left her body.

The fatigue from the trip, which she had forgotten, overwhelmed her with drowsiness.

Not thinking of sorting out her bag or jacket, she flopped down on the living room sofa.

As she closed her eyes for just a moment to rest…

“Did you have fun?”

The enthusiastic voice of Shiyeon came from the direction of the armrest of the sofa.

Lifting her head slowly like a caterpillar inching forward, she rested her chin on the armrest and replied.

“Hmm… It was alright after defeating the monsters?”

In reality, it was around the second or third day that things got interesting.

The schedule before catching the monsters lurking in the Arctic was tighter than expected.

Eat, wash, rest, search for monsters.

Eat, have an hour of free time, and then search for monsters again.

In the shared schedule driven by the determination to find all the monsters in the Arctic, there was no space to feel any fun early in the trip.

But thanks to her activities that ended with clearing out the monsters and bases in just one day, it transformed into a journey where she could finally feel enjoyment.

The magical girls, having played to their hearts’ content, offered three bows in gratitude towards Korea.

Setting aside thoughts of the trip, she shifted the topic and asked Shiyeon with a lazy voice.

“Did you eat well while I was gone?”

“Yeah!”

Shiyeon nodded vigorously at the question of whether she had eaten properly while she was away.

The journey that had kept her away from home for 16 days.

Even with a considerable amount of side dishes prepared, at best, it would last about a week to ten days.

She had worried about whether there would be enough, but it seemed Shiyeon managed to get by on her own to some extent.

That being said, it was unlikely that she had actively made food herself…

“After the side dishes ran out, I got lazy and mostly ordered takeout.”

In the midst of her thoughts… Shiyeon’s mascot, the sea serpent, nonchalantly disclosed the truth.

It didn’t come as a surprise; she must have had someone from outside help her.

With the truth spilling out without being asked in front of everyone, Shiyeon glared at the sea serpent as if she had been betrayed.

“Oh! You shouldn’t say that!”

“Hehe, it’s good that you were able to eat anyway….”

Watching the squabbling between Shiyeon and her mascot made her laugh, but she also grew curious about what they had been eating and asked again.

“What did you order?”

“Umm… Lunch boxes….”

Seeming embarrassed that it was obvious she didn’t cook for herself, Shiyeon stammered a little before answering.

Ending her hesitant speech, Shiyeon revealed the menu as lunch boxes.

Worrying that she might have been stuck in a rotation of chicken, pizza, and jajangmyeon every day, it was a relief that it didn’t come to that, as it seemed quite close to what she usually ate.

Just as Shiyeon’s words trailed off, she wanted to know if she had eaten anything more and pressed her further.

“Lunch boxes are nice! What else did you have?”

“…”

“Huh?”

When asked what else, Shiyeon suddenly fell silent.

What is this ominous silence?

Wondering what was going on, she cocked her head toward the armrest.

Instead of Shiyeon, the sea serpent began explaining.

“Well, once the side dishes ran out, I conquered the entire menu of a lunch box shop.”

“Huh?!”

Surprised, she shot up from the sofa, resting her arms on its arms.

The point when the side dishes ran out was about a week after she departed for her trip.

The revelation that Shiyeon had solely relied on lunch boxes for all three meals since then made all her drowsiness vanish.

“Do you want to come and see?”

“Ah, noooo!”

Ignoring Shiyeon’s scream of protest, she followed the sea serpent towards the recycling bin on the veranda.

There, black plastic lunch boxes and clear plastic lids.

And a graveyard of round paper lunch boxes scattered everywhere.

Just counting roughly, there were well over ten remnants of lunch boxes.

At least, it was commendable that she hadn’t just lived off fast food like chicken, pizza, or hamburgers for an entire week.

Still, relying on takeout for every meal might be a bit…

“Hey Shiyeon, this is a bit much…”

“Ugh…”

According to Shiyeon, while contemplating what other flavors there were out of curiosity when ordering, it had added up like this.

Thus concludes the defendant’s last statement.